Saving Seafood

Why wild Chesapeake catfish should be the new salmon

July 30, 2024 — Restaurants. Stadiums. Prisons. There’s a big new push to get invasive blue catfish out of the Chesapeake Bay and onto a variety of menus.

Why it matters: The Bay’s blue catfish population is booming, which is bad for the native species they outcompete for food and habitat, and those they prey on — especially our dwindling juvenile crab population.

The big picture: Blue catfish get a bad rap. “When I hear ‘invasive,’ it’s like aliens coming down. It’s not sexy, it’s not appetizing,” says Matthew Scales, seafood marketing director for Maryland’s Department of Agriculture.

  • The agency is working with grocers and chefs to show consumers that blue catfish are sustainable and delicious.

Catch up quick: Blue catfish arrived in the Chesapeake Bay only a few decades ago — originally introduced in the ’70s for sports fishing in Virginia — but they’re already in the bay’s top three invasive species.

  • Blue cats can balloon to the size of small kids, over 5 feet long and 100-plus lbs, reproduce like crazy, and travel great distances without food. But when they eat — crabs, menhaden, eels — they’re voracious.

By the numbers: The blue catfish commercial harvest in Maryland and the Potomac River skyrocketed from over 609,000 pounds in 2013 to 4.2 million pounds in 2023 — an increase of more than 500%. But that’s hardly enough to curb the population.

What they’re saying: Part of the problem is branding. “We’re battling the mindset that catfish are these dirty fish, bottom feeders,” Branson Williams, DNR’s invasive species manager, tells Axios. That’s not true, at least with blue cats.

Read the full article at AXIOS

Interior finishes review of Maryland offshore wind project

July 30, 2024 — The Interior Department released a final environmental review Monday of what could be the first offshore wind farm off the coast of Maryland, noting its potential to disturb fisheries and marine life.

Developed by US Wind, the three-phase wind array could power up to 770,000 homes, if approved by the Biden administration.

The final environmental analysis released Monday brings the project closer to that green light. If approved, the project would be the 10th offshore wind array advanced by the Biden administration. The White House aims to reach 16 approved offshore wind projects by the end of the year to fuel its goal of installing enough offshore wind to power 10 million U.S. homes by the end of the decade.

Read the full article at E&E News

BOEM Releases Final Environmental Impact Statement for Wind Energy Project Offshore Maryland

July 29, 2024 — The following was released by BOEM:

In support of the Biden-Harris administration’s goal of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) today announced the availability of its final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for a proposed wind project offshore Maryland. BOEM has now completed environmental reviews for ten commercial-scale offshore wind projects since the start of the Biden-Harris administration. If approved, this project could generate between 1,100 and 2,200 megawatts of clean, renewable energy for the Delmarva Peninsula, and power up to 770,000 homes.

US Wind is seeking approval for its proposed Maryland offshore wind project, which includes three planned phases. Two of those phases, MarWin and Momentum Wind, have received offshore renewable energy certificates from the State of Maryland.

“Our environmental review carefully considered the best available science and information provided by Tribes, other government agencies, local communities, industry, ocean users, and environmental organizations,” said BOEM Director Elizabeth Klein. “This vital collaboration with all our government partners and stakeholders will continue through the subsequent phases of the project.”

BOEM held three public scoping meetings in June 2022 to solicit public input on the environmental review process, and hosted two in-person and two virtual public meetings in October 2023 to gather feedback on a draft of the EIS from Tribal Nations, local community members, commercial fishing interests, and other ocean users.

If approved, the project proposes to install up to 114 turbines, up to four offshore substation platforms, one meteorological tower, and up to four corridors for offshore export cables, which would make landfall in Delaware Seashore State Park. The lease area is approximately 8.7 nautical miles (nm) offshore Maryland and approximately 9 nm offshore Sussex County, Delaware, at its closest points to shore.

If approved, the development and construction phases of the project could support an estimated 2,679 jobs annually over seven years.

Biden-Harris Administration’s Progress to Catalyze the Offshore Wind Industry

Since the start of the Biden-Harris administration, the Department of the Interior has approved the nation’s first nine commercial scale offshore wind projects with a combined capacity of more than 13 gigawatts of clean energy — enough to power nearly 5 million homes. In that time, the Department has held four offshore wind lease auctions – including a record-breaking sale offshore New York and the first-ever sales offshore the Pacific Coast and in the Gulf of Mexico. The Department also recently announced a schedule to hold up to 12 additional lease sales through 2028. On August 14, BOEM will hold an offshore wind lease sale for the Central Atlantic, auctioning areas offshore Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia that could generate up to 6.3 gigawatts of clean energy and power up to 2.2 million homes.

The Department has also taken steps to grow a sustainable offshore wind industry by encouraging the use of project labor agreements, strengthening workforce training, bolstering the domestic supply chain, and undertaking enhanced engagement with Tribes, fisheries, underserved communities, and ocean users.

The Maryland Offshore Wind Project final EIS will be published in the Federal Register in the coming days. For more information, visit BOEM’s website.

MARYLAND: Scallops, The next big shellfish in the Chesapeake Bay?

June 26, 2024 — Next week, Maryland will expand the definition of shellfish in the state, and one particular mollusk could benefit the most by the change.

Currently, shellfish as defined by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) are ‘live oysters, seed oysters, oyster shells, live hard-shell clams, live soft-shell clams, and clam shells’. But thanks to SB303, passed by the General Assembly and signed by Gov. Wes Moore, the definition will expand on July 1 to all ‘live bivalves and bivalve shells’.

Read the full article at WYPR

Horseshoe Crabs, Bled For Vaccines, At Center Of MD Lawsuit

June 5, 2024 – June is a peak month for the horseshoe crab’s migration along the East Coast, following the high tides of each new and full moon. The annual movement of these “living fossils” dates back about 350 million years, so it’s believed to be the world’s oldest and largest wildlife migration.

But in a new lawsuit, an endangered species watchdog group says these crabs are in big trouble and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) isn’t being transparent about how many are killed each year.

The horseshoe crab is a “valuable commodity to humans,” according to DNR, because its copper-based blood is used for biomedical research. Their blood is used to detect toxins in drugs and medical devices. In 2021, Chesapeake Bay Magazine reported on their key role in developing COVID-19 vaccines, among others.

As DNR explains, the animals are fished for medical use by specially permitted fishing operations. Their blood is drawn in a biomedical facility and they are released back into the water. But environmental groups raise questions about how many of those released horseshoe crabs can survive and thrive.

Read the full article at the Chesapeake Bay Magazine 

MARYLAND: Lawsuit alleges Maryland wildlife authorities withheld data on horseshoe crabs

June 3, 2024 — Maryland wildlife managers are accused in a new lawsuit of keeping data secret from environmental groups seeking to protect a unique coastal crab species that is harvested for critical biomedical products.

The species is the horseshoe crab. High-value blood taken from the crabs is used to create products that protect medicines, vaccines and medical devices from contamination.

Read the full article at WFAA

 

Blue Crab Numbers Down From Last Year, Multi-Year Analysis To Begin

May 28, 2024 — The Chesapeake Bay’s blue crab population is holding steady but remains below average, new data show, easing but not completely dispelling worries about the long-term viability of the region’s most important commercial and popular recreational fishery.

The recent winter dredge survey, conducted each year by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and Virginia Institute of Marine Science, found about 317 million crabs in the Bay and its tributaries, the two agencies announced. That is down slightly from last year’s estimate of 323 million crabs, though well above the all-time low of 227 million crabs in 2022.

The tally of spawning-age female crabs—a critical indicator of the overall crab stock’s health—decreased by 12.5 percent. But that number is still well above the threshold that biologists say is the minimum needed to sustain the population.

The abundance of juvenile crabs continued to recover from an all-time low in 2021 but remained well below average for the fifth year in a row. The survey found 138 million young crustaceans this year, a nearly 20% increase over the 2023 survey.

Read the full article at the Bay Journal

Conservation efforts being made to save Maryland horseshoe crabs. Here’s why it’s important.

May 23, 2024 — Conservation efforts are in the works to save endangered horseshoe crabs as they begin migration onto Maryland beaches.

Protecting the horseshoe crab is crucial as the ancient species play a vital role in the aquatic ecosystem and the field of medicine.

“They will be coming in with the full moons and laying eggs on the beaches,” said Toni Kerns, a fisheries policy director.

From May through July, female horseshoe crabs will lay about 20,000 eggs.

“Their eggs are a food source for migrating shorebirds,” Kerns said. “They are also preyed upon by larger species like sharks and sea turtles.”

Read the full article at CBS News

MARYLAND: Striped Bass Fishing Season in Maryland Kicks Off Amidst Controversy Over New Regulations

May 19, 2024 — On the opening day of striped bass fishing in Maryland, recreational anglers and charter boats ventured out onto the Chesapeake Bay, but not all were enthusiastic about the start of the season. New regulations set by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) aimed at bolstering the struggling rockfish population in the Chesapeake have left some captains and guests apprehensive.

Charter boat captains, such as John Motovidlak, voiced concerns about the impact of the regulations on their business. “I’m gonna say I’m between 30 and 40 percent short on my bookings,” Motovidlak lamented.

Under the ASMFC’s new rules, only one fish within the 19 to 24-inch slot size is allowed to be kept, with larger fish over 25 inches designated as breeders. Some charter guests expressed frustration, deeming the regulations overly restrictive and detrimental to the industry.

Read the full article at WBOC